DA: Pa. Handyman Kept 'Perverse Shrine' To Serial Child Rape

DOYLESTOWN, Pa. (AP) - Authorities say a Pennsylvania handyman accused of serial child rape kept a "perverse shrine" in his trailer - 1,000 pairs of used girl's underwear - and documented his crimes in hundreds of disturbing, graphic images and writings.

Fifty-eight-year-old William Charles Thomas was arraigned Tuesday on 51 charges, including five counts of child rape. Authorities are urging other victims to come forward, saying Thomas wrote about molesting children as far back as the 1970s.

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Bucks County District Attorney Matthew Weintraub calls Thomas a "real-life boogeyman."

Police in the Philadelphia suburbs say they began an investigation after the owner of a trailer Thomas had just renovated found a piece of plywood on which Thomas had written about sexually assaulting two young girls.

Thomas could not be reached for comment in jail. Court documents do not list an attorney who could comment on his behalf.

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